


One Tiny Problem

by Joel7th



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, M/M, kolijah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-04-20 09:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4782722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joel7th/pseuds/Joel7th
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU in which Kol is resurrected by Freya, in the form of… a baby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Tiny Problem

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by whatevenkol’s idea (tumblr.com) and given permission to write this story

 

Her phone just wouldn’t cease its incessant cries until she gave up ignoring and pulled it out of her pocket.

The caller wasn’t one she expected. At least for a while.

“It’d better be emergency, Nik, because I just saw a potential doppelgänger of Kol passing by and just so you know, I’m not having vampire speed to catch up with him,” she ranted, exasperated. “There, he’s gone out of sight, thank you very much, Nik.”

The person on the other line was silent, most likely waiting for her to finish her complaint. Some minutes later, a too-familiar voice spoke up, “Now that you’ve done venting your frustration, Rebekah, forget that doppelganger nonsense. We need you home, in New Orleans. Immediately.”

Rebekah mentally sighed, unimpressed by the underlying command in her brother’s voice. Nik had a penchant for drama, didn’t she know it too well?

“Do you have any idea where I am? I’m in Portland. Do you know it’s impossible to get a flight at this time? And what the bloody hell is that wailing over there? Have you mistreated my niece?”

“You niece is perfect, Rebekah,” answered Niklaus in a tone that said he was as irritated as her, perhaps even more. “Safe, tucked in, and peacefully snoozing. What kind of monster do you take me for? That diabolical noise,” he stressed grimly, “is entirely Freya’s fault.”

Rebekah was dumbfounded. “How is that our sister’s fault? Nik, did something happen? Pass the phone to Elijah!”

“Sorry, love. Elijah is having his hands full right now.”

“What happened Nik?”

“What happened is some magic mishaps and  _voila_ , we have a baby brother to take care of, heavy emphasis on the ‘baby’.”

“Which brother… Don’t tell me you did something to Elijah!”

As she spoke, she could still hear the baby crying loudly over the phone, which only confused and unnerved her increasingly.

And did she just hear Nik sigh?

“If you had vampire hearing now, love, you would hear our brother’s failed attempts to solve this  _tiny_  problem. Not Elijah, our other brother who has just died… again.”

Her witch heart nearly stopped. “Kol? You mean… Kol?”

“Yes, it’s Kol and you need to know: one, it was Freya’s fault, not mine and two, come back to New Orleans now, wherever you are.”

He hanged up, leaving a very perplexed Rebekah standing like a statue in the middle of the bustling street, every cell of her brain grinding together to process the information. Baby crying. Magic mishaps. Baby brother. Kol… So… Kol was the crying baby due to some magic mishaps which Nik had felt righteous to blame their sister Freya. “What the bloody hell…” she muttered.

It took several car horns and one furiously yelling driver to snap her out of her trance-like state. The next thing she knew, Rebekah was sprinting for the nearest travel agency.

_(To be continued. Maybe.)_


	2. One Ancient Spell

Less than a day earlier…

“Tell me again your genius idea, big sister,” Niklaus demanded, a slight mocking in his tone.

The remaining Mikaelsons was gathering around their large table in the compound.

“My genius idea, little brother,” Freya replied in a similar tone, “is to bring our brother back to life. With magic, in case I was too fast and you weren’t able to follow.”

“I can assure you that Niklaus follows just fine, but he and his information-processing center do not always work in tandem.”

“Your sense of humour isn’t appreciated, Elijah,” he said, turning to Freya. “Do enlighten me: how.”

Freya and Elijah exchanged an amused look, a habit they had picked up recently whenever their paranoid brother said something they both found hilarious, much to said brother’s annoyance.

“There’s an old spell said to have been the one to bring the god Baldur back to the living land after Ragnarok–”

“Do away the fairy tale bits and jump to the core, if you please, sister.”

“We have the spell, we cast the spell at midnight and bring Kol back. Is that simple enough for you?”

“Ah,” Klaus exclaimed, “but you forget to mention the essentials. Firstly, not even you, the caster, have any idea whether this older-than-the-earth spell would work, and secondly, what would be the consequence if it failed.”

“Every spell has the potential to fail, Niklaus,” Elijah intervened, “even when performed by the most powerful witch. But I choose to take this risk if it means we can have our little brother back.”

“That is why I need you to bring our sister’s body out of the coffin – we need her blood, and Esther’s, too. Don’t give me that look; I knew you would have had a backup plan if the first plan to destroy Dahlia had failed. I was in your mind, remember?”

For a moment Klaus looked hurt, the sort of hurt when a young one was bullied by his older siblings, which he happened to experience with appalling frequency these past few months. Freya and Elijah’s quality bonding time had resulted in their mutual agreement to make fun of him wherever and whenever they saw fit. He missed the days when he wasn’t so outnumbered.

And that didn’t include Rebekah. He imagined she would very likely to join them when she returned. She wouldn’t be Rebekah if she found no joy in ricocheting him with her sarcastic remarks.

“Fine,” he muttered.

“In order to increase the odds, I need to ask you two some favors.”

“Whatever in our capabilities,” Elijah replied.

“I will need to channel Rebekah’s vampire body, borrowing her power to perform such a great spell–”

Before Elijah had anything to say, Klaus growled, “I object!”

“No harm will come to her body or her soul, I swear.”

“Then use me instead!”

“I will need you and Elijah’s memories of Kol as I have none.”

“What about the others?” asked Elijah. “You said ‘favors’ so there should be two, three…”

“I ask you for a little of Hope’s blood,” Freya said, holding up a hand to stop any objections from her brothers. “We need to gather every living family member’s blood, including Hope’s as she’s Kol’s niece. Aside from that, she will not take part in the spell.”

“If something happens to my daughter–”

Elijah’s firm hand on his shoulder prevented Klaus from finishing his characteristic threat. With a silent nod and a gentle squeeze on his shoulder, Elijah sent Klaus, huffing exasperatedly, to retrieve the necessary ‘ingredients’.

About ten minutes later, Rebekah’s, their mother’s and Hope’s blood had filled one third of the ceramic bowl which had been scavenged from their unused kitchen.

“Your hand, Niklaus.”

Klaus gave his eldest sister a doubtful look before slowly held out his hand.

“Niklaus is being a little sensitive with the knife,” commented Elijah, looking immaculate as always in his dark suit even when he was cutting open his hand. Out of habit, the Original vampire wiped the excessive blood from his already healed wound with a pristine handkerchief. “The last time he had his palm sliced, it left him crippled for months.”

Klaus snorted indignantly.

“I’ll be gentle,” promised Freya as she cut a horizontal line on her brother’s flesh, swiftly and neatly as if she was born to do so, and then carved an identical one on her own. Blood oozed from their wounds and was caught in the bowl.

With her hands hovering the bowl, Freya began chanting, causing ripples to break the still surface.

“All done,” she smiled at her brothers. “Now we only have to wait till the blood moon rises.”

_(To be continued. Maybe.)_


	3. One Magic Mishap (?!)

****

The blood moon hung high in the sky, promising a huge source of magic energy to be harvested, the necessary ‘ingredients’ were gathered, and the three Mikaelsons were ready for the ritual to bring their lost brother back.

“I need you two to clear your minds,” Freya instructed her brothers as she stepped inside the hexagram drawn by salt, Elijah and Klaus following suit. Fire flared up in respond to her power, encaging them.

“Picture Kol in your heads, see his face, hear his voice, feel the familial connection between you and him.”

The siblings sat in a triangle, holding each other’s hands. As Freya began chanting in witch language, winds rose outside the burning hexagram, gradually growing in strength to become gales.

Outside the hexagram it was one kind of storm, inside it was another.

For hours on end they were caught in the magic of the spell surrounding them and the scattered memories of Kol. Most of them weren’t exactly pleasant – bodies piled up, blood galore and their brother grinning psychotically from ear to ear, so they had to dig deeper and deeper into their thousand-year-old minds for relatively less violent ones. Going back a millennium, when Kol had been a mischievous boy with a knack for magic tricks, before all hell broke loose. None of them knew exactly how long had passed until Freya’s chant came to a stop, and a burst of energy forced them to come apart.

“Did it work?” asked Klaus. Beads of sweat were clinging onto his forehead while his breath came out a puff of white smoke.

“Be patient, Niklaus.” Freya’s reply came between heavy pants. There were traces of blood at the corners of her eyes and mouth. Her lips trembled as she spoke, and her face was pale as moonlight.

“Are you all right, Freya?” Elijah asked with a touch of concern, offering her his handkerchief to wipe away her blood and sweats.

“I’m fine, only a little overloaded. I believe the spell has succeeded. Look.”

On her cue, the brothers looked at the small altar they had built to lay Kol’s ash. The bowl in which contained the Mikaelson blood was glowing, and then a whip of blue light shot sharply to the sky.

“Follow it,” Freya shouted.

Klaus had already sprung forward while Elijah scooped Freya in his arms and wasted no time in chasing after him.

“For bloody sake, it finally stopped,” Klaus growled.

After leading the three siblings running amok several rounds inside and out the compound, the whip of light had finally settled down on a four-poster bed.

The siblings took careful steps in approaching the bed, their hearts beating in a collective wild rhythm. The blinding blue light faded, revealing a small figure…

“I believe now is the appropriate time for the term ‘OMG’,” said Elijah to neither of his siblings in particular.

And then, unexpectedly yet predictably, a vociferous cry almost burst their hearing.

_(To be continued. Maybe.)_


	4. One Final Decision

“I’m quite pissed that you didn’t let me have a part in this awesome mission. Hello, I’m a witch. At least I could be of some help!” Rebekah complained.

Upon hearing the earth-shattering news from Nik, she had raced against the moon to get back to New Orleans, only to find the compound in a glorious mess and her siblings all plagued with a unified exhausted look.

“Because I only learned of the blood moon occurrence the other day, at which time it had already been too late to call you back to New Orleans.”

“Let me remind you, sister, there is an invention known as the Internet.”

“Which you didn’t muster enough care to set up a connection in this compound.”

“Duly noted, Freya,” Klaus said, miming writing a note, “next on my to-do list: get our big sister a laptop. Full stop.”

“Please,” Elijah hushed, “your quibbles are disturbing him.”

“So… that’s how you found… him? On Elijah’s bed?” asked Rebekah, gesturing to the snoozing bundle in Elijah’s arms.

Freya, Klaus and Elijah all nodded in perfect union. “Not after hours of happy chasing game,” Klaus added.

“Well, Kol loved chasing when he was little.”

Klaus shrugged. “He also loved it when he could have us running after his little tail for hours on end.”

“Wait, how can we be certain this… baby is our brother?”

“He really is Kol,” Elijah confirmed.

“I’d be overjoyed if he weren’t,” Klaus sighed. “Unfortunately, this noisy little demon is the Kol we’ve known for a thousand years. Big sister, if you please.”

“I ran a test. This baby is Kol, body and soul. There’s no mistake.”

“If Freya’s magic didn’t hold enough credit, here’s another,” said Klaus, taking the baby from his brother’s arms. “Have a look, love, this tiny one has a spot on his left buttock, just like Kol had.”

Rebekah’s face sported a comical look. “I’m quite sure seeing my older brother’s bare bottom ranks first in my list of strangest things in this decade. Let me hold him, Nik.”

“Be careful, love, this one– Ouch!”

Klaus cried, out of surprise rather than pain, when the baby bit his thumb that was caressing his cheek. To add insult to the injury, Kol started wailing.

Freya, Rebekah and Elijah instantly covered their ears.

“Here it comes again, the diabolical noise. He’s all yours, brother.”

As if holding a time bomb, Klaus quickly handed baby Kol to Elijah, who took him into his lap and started… singing softly. The crying, miraculously, quieted and ceased.

“Just like the old days,” said Klaus, “only the noble Elijah could subdue the little banshee.”

“Just like the old days,” replied Elijah, “once Kol grew teeth, he would bite Niklaus whenever he tried to touch him.”

“Is there a way to fix this… mishap? So that the grownup Kol could be returned to us.”

“There’s nothing to fix, Rebekah,” Freya said. “The spell worked. Kol lives and his soul is firmly bound to this flesh. Unless he’s killed and everything will be back at square one.”

Klaus’s gaze landed on the baby, who was gleefully playing with the tip of Elijah’s necktie.

“Don’t even think about it, Niklaus!”

Holding up his hands, Klaus mock-squirmed under Elijah’s vampire glare. “Don’t get me wrong Elijah,” he said. “I’m merely considering the bright prospect of my little brother growing up alongside my daughter and being her bestie.”

“As a matter of fact, I don’t think it is outside the realm of possibility.”

Then all his siblings’ eyes were on him.

“There’s no way we would allow Kol to fall into the hands of death again, so the only choice left is to… roll with it, as they say.”

“Wait, is there something, a spell, or a ritual… Freya?”

“The spell is irreversible, Rebekah.”

A moment of silence that seemed to stretch out for eternity, until Klaus, always Klaus, broke it with his laughter, but even that sounded weak. “Another Mikaelson quirk.”

“Make it plural,” said Freya.

“What do you mean, Freya?” Rebekah asked.

“When I ran the blood test, I came across an unexpected discovery. This new flesh of Kol is not of a human baby.”

“Well, I expected him to be a vampire, as his ash was; that would perfectly explain those sharp canines. Still, a vampire baby, or baby vampire – whichever he is – is indeed freakish. Gives me an awful reminder of those Anne Rice’s novels.” A few seconds passed, and then Klaus almost jumped out of his seat. “Don’t tell me he is going to remain a baby for all of eternity!”

Elijah and Rebekah’s eyes were wide as a goose egg, as if only now did they realize the dark side of this whole resurrection spell. Fortunate for them, Freya was here to save the day.

“He is not, rest assured. He will grow up, but the combination of vampire ash, witch slash vampire soul, vampire, witch and hybrid blood will make him very… different…”

Freya took a brief pause, glancing at her siblings, before she continued, “In short he’s going to be much like Hope.”

“Bloody hell!” Rebekah exclaimed, her expression closely resembling someone who tried to suppress their tear and their laughter at the same time.

“Another magical baby! I can almost see the heading taking half the front page of the witches’ daily.”

Klaus sought to hide his inner turmoil at the shocking news with a sarcastic comment. Turning his attention to his little brother, Klaus reached out to fiddle with the turf of hair on Kol’s head, earning himself another bite from the hybrid baby. An undignified yelp followed.

Elijah remained silent, contemplating the baby in his arms. Little Kol burped and giggled at him. He saw himself in the baby’s dark eyes, smiling back.

Perhaps this wasn’t the worst of situation.

_(The end. Maybe.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this short fic. Thank you for all your supportive comments.
> 
> There will be some extras about baby Kol growing up. The exact number hasn’t been decided, but I’m sure there’ll be more than one.


	5. Extra 1: How to Describe Elijah Mikaelson

How to describe Elijah Mikaelson?

Original vampire, always wore designer suits, was more polite in speech and manners than the rest of his siblings combined. That was how most supernatural beings in New Orleans perceived the elder Mikaelson brother. Those who knew him personally, though, had other ideas.

Well, first of all, he was cranky as hell and fussy as a mother hen – he probably was, with the rest of the Mikaelsons being his chicks. That was what Marcel had once told Gia – may her soul rest in peace and Klaus’s in hell, if she had truly perished and he ever died. No-one said the thought hadn’t at least crossed his psychotic mind. The bastard. Good thing his elder sister had had better sense. Anyway, beside those annoying traits, Elijah had a knack for exploiting the loopholes in others’ speech, twisting their own words right inside their mouths, so making a deal with him could be very tricky. Marcel also knew Elijah would put his family above anything or anyone else, even his own honor code. None would say the three-hundred-year-old vampire had truly got over the coldest shoulder given to by the one-thousand-year-old erudite Original, even after learning of the true reason behind his complete turn in attitude.

Cami’s opinion of the Original vampire was a tad different. Technically she had met Klaus before his brother; however Elijah had been the first to have a casual conversation with her. His manners had been impeccable, his knowledge profound and his cadence pleasant, thus giving Cami an extremely good impression of him. Out of the Originals, Elijah has continued to prove that he was the easiest to talk to, while a conversation with Klaus had a potential to become tempestuous at any moment and she had not had a lot of chances to speak with Rebekah and Kol. And don’t even mention Finn’s creepy vibes. Although Elijah had been somewhat off these past months, having been crushed over and over by the heavy roller coaster of his family drama, and he had showed several unstable signs, he continued to be Cami’s favorite Original. Sure she had complicated feelings for Klaus; nevertheless it was in Elijah she found a more reliable friend.

Whatever opinion they had about him, neither Marcel nor Cami could contain their bafflement upon seeing him this afternoon when they paid the Mikaelson compound a visit. Neat dark suit and not a single hair out of place, this Elijah was the regular Elijah they had known, except that he was holding a milk bottle in one hand and a baby in another. Okay. So Elijah’s holding a baby was not very rare – both Marcel and Cami had seen him with Hope – but Elijah’s holding a baby while doing baby talk and making faces was indeed a sight to behold. The vampire and the human found themselves struggling to process this shocking news as their perceptions of the world crumbled to debris.

“Rebekah’s on a flight to Portland,” Elijah spoke without taking his eyes away from the demanding baby in his arms. “If you’re looking for Gia, she’s gone to her jazz club. And Cami, Klaus is upstairs, perfect timing, as he’s been in a particularly foul mood since morning. Must be one of his monthly episodes.”

“Has someone hijacked your body or have you developed a new taste in infants?” Marcel blurted out, earning himself an elbow from Cami.

“I assure you that it’s neither.” Elijah didn’t sound offended; in fact, his voice was serene. “This little one is… family.”

Marcel’s and Cami’s initial thoughts were unsurprisingly unified: first, had Rebekah managed to have a child with her witch body, and second, had Klaus ‘accidentally’ spawned yet another hybrid baby? They weren’t sure how to emotionally deal with either possibility.

“May I ask whose baby, Elijah?” It was Cami who spoke.

“Well,” Elijah sighed, “technically speaking, he’s Mikael and Esther’s child…”

Their perceptions, barely put back together, were once again shattered into a thousand pieces, which were then hastily swept and tucked away into the oblivion.

Elijah’s voice sounded miles away.

“… you have already known him by the name Kol Mikaelson.”

That name sure rang a bell in their clouded minds.

“Kol Mikaelson?” Cami echoed.

Elijah studied the vacant looks on their faces – as though their very souls had been disengaged from their bodies to travel far, far away – and resigned himself to the knowledge that they might not have heard any of his previous words other than the name.

“An ancient spell, a celestial event and the blood of the remaining Mikaelsons combined to form this flesh you are seeing.”

“Has Davina learned of this?”

“She has not, and neither have the witches from the nine covens, as we have yet decided to make this matter public. Therefore, I believe that asking the two of you to keep Kol’s rebirth a secret is not too much a demand.”

Cami and Marcel exchanged an inquisitive look, before Cami voiced their shared doubt, “Something tells me this is no ordinary human baby.”

“No baby in this family is qualified as ‘ordinary’, whether born or reborn. Ah, Marcel,” he warned, seeing the younger vampire making a curious attempt to touch baby Kol, “I strongly advise against reaching out to him. This little brother of mine has nurtured a grievous habit of sinking his little incisors into another flesh.”

“… which he just did,” Marcel scoffed. “That proves he’s indeed Kol Mikaelson, who obviously thought I was a thorn in his side.”

There were two tiny punctures on his thumb where he had been bitten, from which a droplet of blood oozed out. How a baby’s teeth could be this sharp was beyond Marcel’s comprehension.

“Klaus gets bitten all the time, so not to worry, he doesn’t exceptionally hate you. Still, it’s recommended that you come to Klaus for a sip of his blood.”

“Another magical hybrid baby. That’s not very cute.”

Elijah’s respond was a slight shrug.

“Is it okay for me to touch him?” Cami asked, glancing warily at Marcel’s figure that disappeared above the stairs. She happened to adore children, so she couldn’t help the urge to cuddle every baby she saw, supernatural or not. She hoped she could get along with little Kol, as she had done pretty well with the other Mikaelson hybrid child, though her usual confidence was somewhat wavered.

Well, the worst was only a tiny, harmless bite, right? There were times Cami was grateful to be human, and this was one such time.

Elijah looked surprised, but he actually smiled and handed her baby Kol, together with the half-full milk bottle. Cami braced herself for a bite or a cry, or both, and neither happened. Kol was pliant in her arms, and the only mischief he committed was playing with her blonde curls.

It felt odd, holding Elijah and Klaus’s thousand-year-old brother and feeding him. It was even more bizarre since she had known and talked to his former adult self.

Another item on her ever-ending list of the Mikaelson quirks.

“That proves my theory that he only bites Klaus and Marcel,” said Elijah, glancing at Cami and baby Kol. “He’s nice to the girls – Freya, Rebekah and even Gia, who was virtually stranger to him, none of them get this uncivil treatment.”

Cami breathed a laughed. “Is what you told Marcel true, that he needs Klaus’s blood?”

To her surprise, Elijah’s lips curved into a smirk. “Hardly. I doubt his werewolf faction has been activated. Hope’s hasn’t, and she’s a true hybrid while Kol is more of combination of different bloods.”

Cami shook her head. “Poor Marcel. I didn’t know you had it in you, Elijah. What has he done to earn your wrath?”

“Nothing. Still, I will not deny I haven’t been influenced by this little one. Not to worry; Marcel’ll figure out soon enough. By the way, Cami, didn’t you come here for Klaus?”

“I came for you, actually. There’re a few spots in Freud’s theories that I think you might be able to help me shed some light on.”

“I’d love to help. Would tomorrow suffice, as I have some business to attend tonight?”

Realization crossed her face. “Tonight is the full moon, right?”

Elijah nodded.

“Tomorrow is perfect,” she said.

“I’m going to bring Hope to Hayley. As for this little one…” he paused, caressing baby Kol’s cheek. “I will probably have to bring him with me.”

“Can’t you leave him home?”

“Klaus and baby Kol are a formula for catastrophe, Bekah’s off-limits and Freya is occupied.”

“Well, I can babysit him while you’re gone to the bayou. I have no shift so my evening is pretty free.”

“Your kindness is much appreciated, Cami. However, it isn’t possible to leave him in another person’s care.”

Cami arched an eyebrow. “Why is that? He’s been fine with me so far.”

Elijah raised his forefinger, telling her to watch as he flashed out of her sight. A sudden high-pitched shriek caught her completely off-guard, followed by kicks from Kol’s tiny legs. Baffled by the baby’s unexpected shift in behavior, Cami didn’t know what to do.

Kol’s crying probably alerted every single supernatural creature in this city.

He only stopped crying the moment Elijah was back in sight. A happy giggling baby like none of the previous nonsense had happened.

“Don’t be offended, Cami. It happened to Gia, too,” Elijah consoled her. “I think somehow he can ‘feel’ my presence. If I leave him–”

“He starts crying,” she finished his sentence.

“… non-stop.”

They shared an understanding glance at baby Kol, whose glistening dark eyes alternated between his brother’s face and Cami’s.

“Every time?”

“Without fail.”

“This is awkward,” she concluded, for a lack of better word.

“It is.”

…

Thus, that was how Hayley found herself staring in the biggest confusion she’d ever had in both her life and un-life: she was staring at Elijah with a baby in each arm, a task would be quite difficult for a normal human. She refrained herself from asking as she took his jacket to cover her nudity.

Oh, how wrong she was.

There was an even bigger confusion than the previous one, when she learned that her baby girl would grow up with her uncle, go to the same school and probably attend the Homecoming party together.

Urgh. Envisioning that gave her a supernatural headache.

“Do you happen to have some kind of supernatural Aspirin?”

_(To be continued. Maybe.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gia didn’t die in this universe. For more detail, you could have a look at my fic Sjónhverfing (Gia x Elijah) , well, if you’re interested, that is.


	6. Extra 2: Family Business

“Do you bloody know what bloody time it is in Kyoto?”

Punching the ‘Accept’ button with all her mortal might, Rebekah all but roared into the speaker. Fifth time. This was the fifth bloody time her phone had cried in the middle of the night. She had declined the first four, pressing the ‘Silence’ button and burying her head under the thick futon. Still, the caller had proven to be persistent far beyond her imagination, and finally, she had given up ignoring. It was either picking it up or flinging it into the pond outside the window and she happened to adore the new Iphone case she had recently purchased in Akihabara district.

Someone really needed to remind the sleep-addled Original slash witch there existed another, more tactical alternative: turning it off.

“My apologies, sister,” the caller said after silently enduring her soaring, very justified rage, “for disrupting your sweet, sweet dream. I’ve forgotten to check the time zone. By the way, you sound exactly the same as the five-year-old you, who threw a wild tantrum at whichever of us unfortunate enough to disturb your beauty slumber.”

“Your purpose, Nik, for calling me at this bloody hour. Five bloody times!”

“This is an extreme emergency.”

Rebekah was unimpressed with the dramatic stress in her brother’s voice. “Next you’re going to say, ‘We have a situation’.”

“Well, not to disappoint you, sister, but we have more than one situation. Several actually. Which of them do you care to hear first?”

Placing her hand on her slender hip, Rebekah huffed in exasperation. “List the options.”

“Some good, some bad, some falling in between.”

“Good news first, to balance the terrible mood you’ve just inflicted on me.”

There was a whooshing sound that suggested Klaus had just done a vampire move. That the background had grown significantly less quiet was the proof.

“Listen carefully, love, it’s good news speaking, or shouting insults at me, depending on your decipherment. Oops!”

The noise of something hitting the wall and shattering entered her ears, and then, Nik’s shouting: “Could we have a bloody time-out? I’m trying to speak to Rebekah here!”

“Is that… Hayley’s voice?” Rebekah asked incredulously.

Her brother scoffed on the other line, “Yes, that is Hayley’s giving me a piece of her mind, along with my favorite antique lamp. The Crescent curse was mercifully lifted; as such, the wolf queen and her loyal followers don’t have to walk on all fours or bark at the trees anymore. Still, the manner in which she expresses her gratitude is most peculiar.”

“Nothing you don’t deserve, Nik.”

“My favorite antique lamp doesn’t deserve this cruel fate.”

“Collateral damage, sweetheart, as you so love to put it,” said Rebekah with a widening grin. “So, how did you get those witches who hate our guts to help?”

“A few pages from dearest mommy’s grimoire, one portion of Elijah’s eloquence and Freya’s magic, plus a humongous contribution from our baby brother and the witches were bought, well, their Regent, to be more exact. Good thing our brother fraternized with her when he was in that borrowed flesh.”

“Wait, Davina… what?”

“She is, after all, a teenage girl, and teenage girls, by and large, are easily swayed by pretty words and prettier faces.”

“Need I remind you that teenage girl has kicked our arses several bloody times?” she scowled “Anyways, that’s the good news. How about the bad one?”

“Freya wants to bring Finn back,” he uttered every word as though doing a pronunciation exercise.

A moment of silence, then a mini-sized explosion on Rebekah’s side. “What?!”

“In case you haven’t heard it clear, love, Freya wants to resurrect Finn, like we did with Kol.”

“I heard it perfectly fine the first time, Nik. But didn’t Finn hate vampires and even hybrids, which will likely be what he’ll become?”

“Freya said she had been conversing with him, and somehow the determined Finn was ‘convinced’. Obviously his love and desire to be reunited with our big sister have triumphed his aversion for these ‘abominations’. And to quote Freya, what is home without our siblings?”

“You’re missing the point, Nik! What if he ended up a baby, like Kol? I don’t think we have the capability to handle another ‘baby brother’ drama. That’s Finn! I-don’t-bloody-ever-smile-Finn.”

“I’m not, Rebekah, yet our sister assured us that Kol’s state was a tiny mishap. It would be different with Finn. She had it under control.”

Rebekah’s face sported a frown as she ran her hand through her dark, curly hair. “How could she be so confident? It’s magic, and magic has a nasty tendency to go horribly wrong anytime.”

“I have no idea. Our eldest sister’s abilities are unfathomable as her sanity. One thing for sure is that she’s adamant.”

There was a bang loud enough to quake her over the phone. She guessed it was Hayley’s calling off the ‘time-out’. Or Freya’s reaction to Nik’s questioning her mental capacity. Could be both.

“What did Elijah say?” she asked, once she could hear Nik again, proving that he hadn’t had his neck snapped.

“Elijah was a lost cause to us, as he agreed that Finn should have another chance, since we siblings had deviously wronged him in his previous life. I did tell him perhaps he wouldn’t mind babysitting yet another brother. That’s why I need you home now, to help me talk some decent sense into our older siblings.”

“I hate to say it, Nik, but Elijah’s point isn’t invalid. As far as I know, we owed Finn much more than we could hope to amend.”

“Oh, how quickly you’ve changed your mind. Need I remind you that he once tried to harm my daughter?” He growled in a deep, low voice. She could imagine his eyes were flashing golden and dark veins creeping up his face.

“I feel it justified to blame demented Aunt Dahlia and dearest mommy,” she said, hoping to divert his budding rage. “All right, while I’m taking time to think this matter through, why don’t you tell me that something-in-between news?”

Rebekah heard him let out a long sigh. Probably practicing some anger-control therapy Cami had taught him.

“It’s clear that our bloodline runs strong in both Hope and Kol,” he spoke at last. “Not only can they do magic on their own, as we have witnessed plenty of times, they have just figured out how to channel each other… while playing Barbie. That’s where the ‘something-in-between’ comes in.”

“You gave them Barbie to play?”

“And Spiderman is going to be her boyfriend instead of Ken. Elijah’s idea, not mine, to let them choose whatever they wanted for their toys. Kol was happy with his choice, as he is pleased with anything that aids him in his monopoly of Elijah.”

“Finally realized that you cannot always have our elder brother for yourself?” Rebekah laughed.

Klaus chose to ignore her taunt.

“Our ‘children’ have been quite enthusiastic with their newfound ability and decided to experiment with it. Freya’s room fell victimized first, followed by Elijah’s and mine is going through a ‘renovation’ as we speak.”

“What kind of renovation?”

“One involves various shades of pink and floral patterns. Now I have to admit that I am powerless to stop it–”

Horror flashed her countenance as she nearly yelled into the speaker, “Hey! Can the three you at least do something to keep them from channeling each other?”

“That is why, Rebekah, you’d better kiss Kyoto goodbye and get your witchy self back to New Orleans. Have a safe journey, dear sister,” he said and hung up, leaving behind the weight of implication that all Rebekah’s prized collection of stilettos, boots and dresses, not to mention her beloved room, would be foregone if she didn’t return in time.

“Bloody hell,” muttered Rebekah as she dialed her traveling agent.

There were times when she felt that family was nothing but a pain in the behind, and this was one such time.

_(To be continued. Maybe.)_


	7. Extra 3: Rebirth

“Hello,” Freya greeted the tall figure standing some feet away from her. “Long time no see, little brother.”

The thin veil of fog surrounding the two of them hindered her from truly seeing his face, but from her memory of their brief encounter, Freya knew it inch by inch. A boyishly handsome visage, adorned by dark eyes gleaming with much more than a hint of harmless mischief, and a devil-may-care smirk. How many young witches’ hearts had grown fonder with that particular curve of his lips, she wondered.

“Still handsome as I remember.”

He closed the distance between them until he was within her arm’s reach and she could touch him if she so desired.

“And you, still gorgeous as my memory of you,” he said, winking. “Freya, isn’t it? I saw the way you put Nik in his place. His hybrid arse needs a good kicking from time to time. If I weren’t dead nor were you my eldest sister, I would date you already.”

She laughed a gleeful laughter that rang like silver bell, and pinched his nose. He felt like water and silk to her fingertips, ethereal and unreal. “We almost dated back in 1914, remember?”

“Oh, what a shame,” he groaned. “You were the loveliest among the young witches and the one girl that gave me the coldest shoulder I had ever met. That made me want you all the more.”

“One, your wooing skills need honing and two, that’s because I knew you were my little brother.”

“Our family, though horrible, sure possess some excellent genes, is that how they say it in this era?”

“Ready to be returned to those sharing your ‘excellent genes’, little brother?”

“ _Dying_  for it, big sis. You have no idea how boring it is here,” he quipped. “Where’s Bekah in all of this? Didn’t she promise to bring me back?”

“You have to excuse our sister, Kol,” said Freya. “She’s basically a baby witch while magic is much complicated. Now, take my hands. Think about the form you want to have.”

“Oh, wait, do I have a choice?”

“A teenage boy, a young man, a middle-aged, even a baby. Nevertheless, if you chose to be a child, I must warn you that your mentality might undergo a few… adjustments.”

“A baby with a thousand-year-old mind,” he laughed, “imagine the chaos. I think I have made up my mind, Freya, but first I beg you a favor.”

“I’m listening.”

“Whatever choice I’ll make, please keep it a secret from our siblings.”

She stared at him, then blinked. Cupping his face in her hands, she said, “Why do I have a hunch that I won’t be seeing this cute face for a while?”

His larger hands easily enveloped hers. The water-silk feeling again. “That shall be our clandestine affair. Pinky swear?”

“I promise you, but do keep in mind that once the spell’s done, it is absolutely irreversible,” she whispered, though there was a tiny knot forming in her left chest. She tried to shake it off, focusing instead on Kol’s fingers on her, and mumbled the final verse of the spell, reserved only for this phrase.

“Thank you, big sis.”

His lips on her cheek felt like the touch of a feather. Kol’s face disintegrated…

… and formed the beaming face of a child.

The sudden weight on her laps broke Freya out of her reverie. A small hand hovered before her eyes.

“Freya, are you snoozing?”

She caught the hand and gave the boy her best glare, which was endearingly nicknamed ‘the old witch glare’ by none other than the little devil. “I am not snoozing. I’m reminiscing.”

“That’s what Nik says when he’s snoozing,” the boy rebuked.

Freya pinched his nose. “Don’t talk back to your big sis, Kol, or this old witch will punish you.”

She took notice of huge blotches of mud on his tank tops, his reversed cap and the smudges across his cheeks. “What have you done all morning?”

Kol gestured to the baseball bat he had placed on the bench beside Freya. “Elijah and I played baseball. I won and he’s gone to me buy ice cream.”

Freya arched an eyebrow. “He must have gone easy on you, again?”

“Unfortunately, this time the little devil truly beat me.”

Elijah flashed to the bench where Freya and Kol were sitting, balancing three big ice cream cones in his hands. His signature dark suit was absent in favor of a loose T-shirt (blissfully much cleaner than Kol’s), washed jeans and a brightly colored baseball cap identical to Kol’s.

“Ice cream!” Kol cried and leapt out of Freya’s laps, attacking the chocolate chipped ice cream.

“Mint or strawberry?”

“Mint, please,” Freya answered and received her choice treat. “You bought one for me, too?”

Elijah sat next to his sister, while their little brother snuggled in between them. “Because I knew Kol would run to you first thing and brag about his triumph.”

“So this is tribute to the victor?”

“Elijah also promised me the Spiderman figure, too,” Kol reminded his brother, dripping ice cream from his mouth onto the front of his tank top.

“I haven’t forgotten.” Elijah ruffed his hair through the cap. “Mind your manners, Kol,” he chided. “Don’t talk with your mouth full. Where’re the others, Freya?”

“Hayley went to the bayou to check on her wolves, Finn, to Vincent’s river cottage and I, the barber’s,” a voice chimed in. They did not have to guess whose it was.

Klaus appeared next to a nearby tree, arms crossing and his hair significantly shorter than they remembered, which was mere few hours ago. “No ice cream for me?” he asked teasingly.

Seeing both Elijah and Kol giving Klaus’s new hairstyle a funny look, Freya breathed a laugh. “Hope gave him a hair makeover. With magic, a lot of tiny braids and beads. Nik didn’t like his daughter’s styling.”

Elijah and Kol both sniggered, earning an exasperated huff from Klaus. “That’s why she went to give Rebekah one instead.”

“We express sincerest condolences for your lost, Niklaus,” Kol said in his most Elijah-like tone, using Elijah-like vocabulary and holding out his half-finished ice cream cone.

“Now Kol here only needs a few dark suits to complete his transformation into a mini-Elijah.” Casting a swift glance to his older brother, Klaus added, “Or Elijah to discard his trademark suits, which I see he has already done.”

“Courtesy of the one and only Kol Mikaelson,” Elijah mock-sighed.

“I heard you defeated Elijah.”

Kol nodded while finishing the last bit of his cone.

“Well, you may have bested Elijah with his old, brittle bones, but do you dare to take the big bad wolf’s challenge? Win and I’ll buy you all the ice cream you want in New Orleans.”

Elijah was about to protest, saying something about too much ice cream being detrimental to their little brother’s teeth (hybrid’s or not) when said little brother had sprung to his feet with his bat in hand. “Game on,” he enthusiastically announced.

“Let’s race to the yard, shall we?”

And then, faster than a blink, the two had disappeared out of sight.

“Sometimes I have a feeling that we are spoiling Kol,” he sighed, half-heartedly disguising it as a complain in hope that his eldest sister was sharing his concern.

She wasn’t.

“I see both you and Niklaus are trying to make amends for the tumultuous time you had with the old Kol. Still, I believe it’s a designated part of an older sibling’s nature to spoil their younger ones. Had I grown up with you, I would have been the same.”

“I seriously doubt it was in Finn; still, I do remember mother telling me again and again how excited you were to have more brothers and sisters.”

“Were you the same?”

“I was afraid, to be honest,” Elijah chuckled. “I was still too young when Niklaus was born so I didn’t feel, or have to do much, but when Kol came, I was old enough to help around the house. I panicked every time mother told me to pick him up. So scared by the thought that I might drop him that I strained every muscle to keep him in my arms. He must have been uncomfortable.”

“Yet Niklaus said you were the only one that could pacify Kol when he was disturbed?”

Elijah smiled a sheepish smile. “Kol was a… difficult child, who could cry for hours for no definite reason; however, I got a lot of practice as father had to work while mother took care of the various chores and Finn helped her…”

“… and Kol bit Niklaus every time he touched him,” she finished the sentence for him.

“Or wailed loudly, invoking father’s wrath. So looking after the baby brother became my exclusive duty. By the time of Rebekah’s and Henrik’s arrivals, I had gotten better; nevertheless, it was with Kol that I learned to be a big brother. Now I get to relive that experience, thanks to that peculiar turn of event. Expandable diapers and formula helped a great deal.”

“They both look up to you, the old and the new Kol. Not Finn, not Niklaus but you.”

Elijah shook his head ruefully. “Many a time I had failed him, I’m afraid.”

“You have not failed this new Kol,” Freya said, putting her hand on his, “While all of us were confused about baby Kol, you were resolute to raise him.”

“It was either kill him or go with the situation, and the former was never an option. Perhaps it was also because of my selfish desire to have a child. My envy at Niklaus for having Hope.”

“Be it envy or desire, it makes you more than just Kol’s brother. Trust me, you have not failed Kol, and you will not.”

“Aside from reducing him to a hybrid baby?”

Freya could not help a laugh. “It wasn’t something he didn’t want.”

Elijah squinted his eyes.

“Is there something you have kept from us?”

“Don’t let Niklaus’s paranoia infect you,” Freya laughed. “I knew Kol back in 1914, remember? Kol sure loved having late-night rendezvous with witches and not knowing who I was, he chose me to be his confidant.”

“For a long time I believed Kol hated us all, those siblings that betrayed him again and again.”

“He was angry, at times furious, yet he never hated you. The only thing he kept complaining about was your ‘stuffy’ manners and your choice of attire.”

“That certainly explained why he turned my entire wardrobe into T-shirts, tank tops and washed jeans–”

“You don’t look so bad in them.”

“Your kind words are much appreciated, sister,” he said. “I still have a strong need to ravage the shops in New Orleans however. Do you care to join me?”

“To help you choose which shade of dark suits you should buy a dozen? That’s Gia’s profession. I would rather help Hope with Rebekah’s hair.”

“Promise me you will not let our sister’s hair suffer the same fate as Niklaus’s.”

Elijah spoke in his most solemn tone, using his most solemn express, which caused Freya to burst into laughter.

“All right,” she promised. “Perhaps when you return, our niece would love to give you a hair makeover also.”

…

When Freya left her cozy spot on the bench, having enough of her idle time with the warm sun, she stood and made her way to the yard. Klaus and Kol were still playing, the level of their attention rivaling that of professionals in a heated match. Both had made it their cause not to lose to their brother.

There were many a time when Freya questioned Kol’s decision and her promise made to him in that limbo state; nevertheless, every time she saw that big grin and those shining eyes, all her doubts were vanquished.

She winked at Kol when his gaze accidentally directed to her before continuing her way into the house. She had a sister to rescue from her niece.

_(To be continued. Maybe.)_


	8. Memories

Sometimes Elijah could not help but wonder, with a wary sense of apprehension, how much Kol remembered of his past life. Or lives, if you counted his brief days possessing the young witch Kaleb.

Freya told them that Kol’s mind had been blissfully adjusted to his physical form, meaning he would think, behave and most importantly, remember as a child and not as an ancient vampire, but even she, the caster of the spell, couldn’t be doubtless.

There were moments they caught her gazing at their brother, her eyes filled with unvoiced worry. The older Kol got – from a baby to a toddler and then a playful child that ran around the compound with preternatural speed – the more frequent and longer Freya’s mute gaze became.

It would be best if his mind had a total reboot – a pristine blank page eager to absorb the events of his reincarnated life – and matured according to his age, free and unperverted by the bloody phantoms of centuries past, but it was just too bright a scenario. One thing they knew for sure was nature had a way to mess with unnatural existences, and what was Kol’s but an unnatural existence?

Klaus, being Klaus, was the first to propose a memory-swipe as a safe measure: who knew when the old memories could surface and what havoc they would wreck on Kol’s mind. They could drive him mad – madder than his lunatic old self – and they could destroy him. Although practical and arguably what they had all thought at one point or another, his proposal was met with fiery objections from Elijah and Rebekah, at times their arguments culminating in violent blows – flesh cut open, blood spilled and countless pieces of furniture trashed, and still their issue remained. It fell on Freya to put an end to their dispute, claiming that there was no spell for such a wide and thorough memory wipeout, as the mind was sacrosanct and any small, careless act could lead to catastrophic consequences.

“We wait and see,” she concluded and so, they held their breath as each day passed and their baby brother grew bigger and bigger.

It was proven that the young Kol had much to surprise his siblings.

…

“Rebekah, tell me how handsome I am!”

They were scattering in the living room, one of the few quiet and peaceful moments of their tumultuous existence, doing whatever they desired or just simply passing the time when Kol rushed down the stairs with his peculiar demand.

The familiarity of the words as well as the gleeful tone gave them all a jolt.

Unaware of the tidal wave he had just brought down his siblings, Kol grinned from ear to ear as he showed them a black-and-white photograph.

The Christmas in 1914, they were throwing a party to celebrate, when Klaus and Elijah once again put Kol in a magic-induced sleep that had lasted to present day.

Their shared thought was that memory fragment had returned to Kol, and it invoked a chilling talon hooking to their spines.

“Bekah?” Kol asked, waving his hand in front of his dazed-eyed sister. “Nik? ‘Lijah? What’s with the sudden silence?”

“Where did you find it?” Elijah asked, glancing sideway at Klaus. He thought they had hidden it well; now he regretted that they hadn’t incinerated it, along with a few trinkets left behind by the old Kol. It was just photographs of their brother were so rare that he couldn’t bear to destroy any of them, especially one that had captured their scarce, precious moment as a family.

Kol looked perplexed for a second. “I found it at the bottom of the drawer. Who hid it so carefully and come to think about it, why didn’t you show it to me before?”

“Do you,” asked Rebekah with badly concealed hesitance, “remember anything that happened after this photo was taken?”

Scratching his head, Kol replied, “Not really. Am I supposed to remember anything important? I know this was I the moment I laid eyes on this figure but… that’s as far as I know. Anything else’s a big fat zero to me.”

The siblings exchanged a look that spoke volume of their relief. Were Kol not within sight, they might let out a lengthy exhale.

“Of course you looked handsome,” Rebekah said, gazing at the black-and-white Kol. “If I had to rake my brain I still couldn’t find a moment you didn’t. The dashing rouge as many said.”

“Strange, I kind of expected you would say something like you couldn’t be compelled. Say, will I look like this photo in ten years’ time?”

“Only if you had your veggies, Kol,” Klaus quipped. “And go to bed early. Otherwise your height will be stunted and you’ll end up a dwarf.”

“No way!” Kol yelped. “I looked at least the same height as you, Nik, maybe even taller!”

His rebuke elicited a few chuckles from Rebekah. “That’s because Nik refused to go to bed early, isn’t that right, Elijah?”

“How could you know that this was you?”

Kol fiddled with the photograph in his hands as he clearly struggled to answer Elijah’s out-of-the-blue question.

“I… have no idea, honestly. When I looked at it, it was some sort of nostalgia dabbled at my brain… like I definitely saw this scene before, and was in it. It’s hard to describe. I just know. Plus, I saw you, Nik and Bekah in there.”

Klaus and Rebekah didn’t even realize they subconsciously holding their breath as Elijah voiced their collective anxiety, “You don’t question why you used to be all grown up but now you’re a ten-year-old?”

“‘Lijah, you’re playing Sherlock with me or something?” Kol laughed. “I don’t remember any of this, true, but I do recall it was my choice, well, the old-me’s choice to be more exact.”

“The old-you?” Rebekah echoed.

“The old-me was a lunatic so I really can’t complain.”

Turning to Elijah, he asked, “But I’m good, right, ‘Lijah?”

“When aren’t you?”

“Except when you turned all his suits into T-shirts and jeans.”

Feigning ignorance to Nik’s comment, Kol beamed brightly. “You said if I’m good, you’ll take me to movies, don’t forget that. Now I’m going to show Hope this awesome photo.”

He ran off once he finished his sentence, leaving behind his bewildered siblings.

“Who invented this spell was a bloody genius,” Rebekah commented. “We’ve been worrying over nothing.”

While Klaus found himself nodding in agreement, muttering “Crisis averted,” Elijah had yet to let go off his frown.

Was it really nothing?

He knew it wasn’t; nevertheless, he kept that burden of a secret to himself.

This was not the first time Kol had alarmed him with fragments of resurfaced memory.

…

“‘Lijah, why father keeps making me practice sword? I don’t like sword.”

On the wall the grandfather clock ticked 3 o’clock when Kol appeared at the door of Elijah’s room. With snots running from his nose, Kol’s tear-stained face dealt a sharp blow to Elijah’s heart. He rushed to Kol, kneeling in front of the boy. “Tell me what’s wrong, Kol.”

“Father makes me practice sword. I don’t want to, but father’s so angry. Father will hit me. Father beats Nik so hard,” Kol cried.

A whole different kind of pain was lodged into Elijah’s chest. A déjà vu, no, a memory that was so cold it chilled him from the inside out. On some night a thousand year ago, Kol came to him and clung to his neck, muttering these same words with the same frightened expression on his young face.

“Why’s your hand so cold, ‘Lijah?”

“Where did you see Mikael? Did he come to you?”

There was no way Mikael could come back, wasn’t it? Klaus had seen to it when he drove the White Oak stake through their father’s heart years ago. The second time.

“Father’s in my dream. He’s so angry, ‘Lijah. I’m so scared.”

“It’s alright,” Elijah hushed. “He can’t hurt you now. He isn’t here anymore. I am.”

He wiped Kol’s face clean with his handkerchief and hugged him tight.

“But if I close my eyes, I’ll see him again. Can I stay with you, ‘Lijah?”

Another bout of shock hit Elijah, for this was the exact sentence the Kol of the past had said to him. Just how much memory Kol had regained, or he merely spoke them out, unaware that the structure, the words had been long imprinted in his mind which was not young as he thought.

And, like the fifteen-year-old human Elijah of the past, Elijah of today could not refuse his crying and afraid little brother. The words came out of his mouth were, he was acutely aware, the same words he had spoken millions nights past.

“Of course you can stay with me,” he assured Kol, picking the four-year-old boy up with ease. “Father will not come to you now that I’m here. I won’t allow to him to lay a hand on you.”

Tucked in and safe in his brother’s embrace, Kol was soon lulled into a peaceful sleep while Elijah wasn’t granted the same favor. He laid awake all night, listening to the rhythm of Kol’s heartbeats gradually coming to a serene pattern.

Those were music to his ears.

…

Since that night, Kol had made it a habit to sneak to Elijah’s room whenever to he felt the need to be enveloped in his brother’s warmth. Mikael rarely visited his dreams again, which was blissful news not only to Elijah but also to the rest of them, and taking his place was Boogeyman, Big Foot and a litany of monsters lurking under the bed that the young, imaginative minds of children were able to conjure to keep them from their sleeps. Klaus had laughed his ass off, Freya sniggered and Rebekah teased him mercilessly, yet still Kol held onto his childish fears, believing with a fervor that those monsters were far scarier than his hybrid, vampire and witch siblings. Elijah, being the big brother that cosseted Kol, said nothing of the matter as he allowed Kol to his room whenever the boy wanted.

Still, if only it was imaginative monsters that Kol feared.

There was yet another incident that Elijah didn’t dare to tell Niklaus and Rebekah.

It was a night unlike any other nights, when Kol, not bothering that his thundering footsteps might wake the entire household, ran to Elijah’s room. His eyes were red and puffy, and his face crumpled in a grimace that immediately jammed a stake in Elijah’s heart.

“Why was I on fire, ‘Lijah?” Kol sobbed. “Why did my chest hurt so?”

Later, Elijah would begrudge himself for not being able to grasp what Kol was trying to tell him that instance. He hadn’t been there the day the old Kol died. Hadn’t even been remotely near. And if he tried to pinpoint where exactly he had been, the answer came out a grievous shame. He, the supposed big brother, indulged in the carnal pleasures with the serpentine beauty Katerina for his own selfish desires while Kol had been gruesomely murdered. An alone, painful and meaningless death that could have been averted had he been there for his little brother.

He hugged the young Kol, squeezing the small body as if trying to apologize without words. “A scary dream, Kol, a nightmare,” he whispered, “don’t be afraid.”

“It’s not a dream, ‘Lijah! It felt so real.”

“But it wasn’t,” he said, picking Kol up and carrying him to the bed. “It is no more. Stay with me. You’ll be alright. You’ll be safe. I promise.”

Next he was singing, humming to be exact, a wordless lullaby their mother used to hum when a young one was awaken by nightmare. The magic was in the tune itself, not the singer, she said, and never before Elijah so wished it would work.

Some day I’ll tell you all, he promised the sleeping Kol. Everything that happened, every right and every wrong. Provided that you haven’t remembered them first.

The next morning Kol woke up without a sliver of memory of his nightmare.

_(To be continued. Maybe.)_


	9. Homecoming

“Hey, I was wondering if you’d like to be my date for the Homecoming?”

Nathan’s heart was tattooing against his rib cage with every word from those lips. Those perfect-shaped lips that belonged to the perfect beauty standing in front of him. Seriously? Did she just ask him to be her company? She who was the hottest girl in the school, the  _Princess of the Quarter_ as they called, Hope Mikaelson. Was his luck that good or fate was jesting with him?

“Ar—Are you serious about this?” he stammered, unable to steady his voice, excitement rushing through his bloodstream like drug.

“Is your name not Nathan Marlowe?”

“I—of course I’m Nathan Marlowe!”

“Then one hundred percent,” she replied with zero hesitance, just like everything else she did. Hope Mikaelson was not famous by her gorgeous looks alone; she inspired affection in the guys and envy in the girls with her famed absolute confidence. To be fair, she had every reason to be confident: beauty, brain and strength also – nature had truly blessed the Mikaelson princess from head to toe. The fact that she was the sole heiress of that notoriously wealthy and powerful family – the shadowed throne-less kings and queens of New Orleans – only boosted her celebrity status in the school.

“O—of course I will absolutely—”

Of course he would absolutely agree. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance after all; how could he let it pass?

“Not,” a third voice cut in, perfectly in sync with a baseball bat that wedged its way in between Nathan and Hope Mikaelson.

Urg. Nathan knew that voice so well he could paint the speaker blindfolded. The baseball bat was only an unnecessary fortification to his belief.

Kol Mikaelson. The  _Prince of the Quarter_  to Hope’s  _Princess_. The bad boy that other bad boys didn’t want to hang out with because of three major reasons: one, wherever he was, girls would flock to him and the existence of other male species within the immediate vicinity would be sorely forgotten. Two, see that baseball bat? That was Kol’s mate for life, together with a temper that was wild and unpredictable as the dark creatures lurking in the bayou – they said there were still wolves there, no, not huskies, wolves, big as bulls and twice as aggressive. Anyway, back to the topic. The number of times Kol’s guardian, his older brother, had been summoned in regard with his disagreeable behaviors had exceeded even the years of the heaviest life sentence possible. It was without a shadow of a doubt that Kol had not been expelled yet was entirely the Mikaelsons’ influence.

And the third reason, also the most loathed, was times like this, when he just barged in, his bat in hand, to pronounce his ‘seniorship’ and drive away any boy that came near Hope Mikaelson.

“I don’t approve,” Kol said baldly, punctuating his sentence with a tap of the bat and his trademark ‘bad boy’ smirk, “as Hope’s uncle.”

Uncle. Nathan snorted. Didn’t buy that one bit. Though everyone had been informed on day one that Kol Mikaelson and Hope Mikaelson were uncle and niece, Nathan only thought of Kol as Hope’s cousin, and a very annoying one at that.

On the other hand, if Kol’s parents had had him as such late age, no wonder he ended up this twisted bizarre creature.

“Get lost, Kol,” Hope hissed.

Kol cluck his tongue. “Such language to your uncle, darling. Mom and Dad would expect more from you.”

Wearing a feral grin, Kol stepped up and invaded Nathan’s personal space. Invaded his territory. Nathan clenched his fists and hardened his jaws, refusing to be intimidated. “It’s you who should get lost, mate.”

“Try me,” Nathan challenged, his audacity boosted by his not-so-subtle desire to impress the girl.

“Alright,” Kol said gleefully, “let me inform you that in order to be Hope’s date, you have to ask for her family’s permission first, and that doesn’t include mine, because I’ve make myself crystal-clear that you won’t have it.”

“Fine,” Nathan agreed, taking small victory in Kol’s admittance that he had less to say about Hope’s dating who then the rest of the family. “I’ll ask her parents.”

“No, you won’t,” Hope objected. She glared at Kol with her fiery hazel eyes, made all the more iridescent by her anger. “If you meet my family, there won’t be even a chance of us going to Café du Monde, let alone Homecoming.”

“Relax. I think I’ll do fine.”

“She’s right, mate. Do rethink before you’ll come to them.”

“If you’re trying to chicken me out dude, that’s not gonna happen.”

Kol shook his head with spurious ruefulness. “Look, mate, I’m not even trying. Let me tell you about the procedure. First, you’ll meet Hope’s brothers. One owns a corporation – the Kingmaker Corp in case you don’t know – so impress him with your CV and you might get a desk job. That’s the easy one. Then, there’s the other who just loves to see how you fare in the physical department.”

“You’re so not going to bring Lucien and Marcel against me!” Hope seethed, grabbing Nathan’s arm. “Go. Forget his blabbing.”

But Nathan wasn’t known to back down from a nuisance. Plus, Kol had dashed in front of them and efficiently blocked their way. How come he could move so fast, Nathan had to seriously wonder. They said Kol was the best in the tracking team but he never quite bought it.

“On the contrary, love, they told me they’d love to  _have a look_  at your dashing Romeo.”

“Oh, I hope they aren’t so insufferable as you,” Nathan sneered.

“So wrong, mate, I happen to be the most fun-loving and pleasant in the family. Wait until you meet my siblings.”

“No, he won’t,” Hope rebuked. “And I don’t have to ask for your permission for whom I’m going with on Homecoming.”

Ignoring Hope’s protest, Kol glided past her to put an arm around Nathan’s taut shoulder. “There’s her parents, Papa-wolf and Mama-bear in literal sense, supernaturally protective of their cub here. They’ll tear you to pieces if you so much as touch her hair. Then there’re my other siblings, together with their _children_. I’m sure they would be  _over the moon_  to hear of you…”

Kol lowered his voice as though to confide a lethal secret. “…especially about your doing the hockey-pokey thing with more than half the girls in this school, occasionally more than one at a time.”

Nathan’s face turned beet-red.

“Huhm? Am I wrong?”

He glanced at Hope to find her raising a sharp eyebrow. She didn’t seem too surprised as he was afraid she would be, yet that slight arch spoke volume of disdain.

“You were spying on me, you stalking asshole?” Nathan growled.

Kol grinned. “That means I’m not wrong, am I?”

That was it. That obnoxious baring of teeth like he took pride in nosing into others’ business just pushed the berserk button inside Nathan. He pushed Kol with the strength of his torso and an attempt to hurt the boy. Hope’s uncle or not, no one could embarrass him in front of his girl and leave bruise-less.

Kol didn’t move an inch and Nathan felt like he had just bumped right into a brick wall. He was taller than Kol and considerably more muscle-built, so he was shocked to learn that with his strength of a football player he couldn’t knock Kol down.

“No need for things to get ugly, mate,” Kol said, grabbing Nathan by his collar, lifting him up with unusual ease. “Now you will go and you will forget you ever wanted to date Hope Mikaelson, as well as this happening.”

Kol’s pupils seemed to be dilated and for some reason Nathan couldn’t look away. Heck, he couldn’t find the will to fight back despite knowing Kol’s command was just so wrong as this incident and Kol’s strength. Then in an instance all questions simply vanished, and Nathan felt compelled to do what Kol said as though his words became the Ten Commandments themselves.

Then Kol let him go. Without so much a glance at Hope Mikaelson, Nathan left.

Crossing her arms, Hope watched her potential date flee from her like she was a plague. When she turned her eyes to her uncle, she had to actually suppress the urge to rip him apart.

Calm down. Count to three. Do what Aunt Cami said and it’ll be fine.

Granted, everyone in their family had to quench their need to rip Kol apart at one point or another, and that included even Uncle Elijah, who was renowned for his teeth-rotten sweet love for Kol.

“Not funny at all, Kol.”

“On the contrary, love, I think it was extremely funny how quickly he reverted to his violent-prone self.” Tapping the bat on the concrete ground to create some sort of beat, Kol added, “Did you know he bullied the hell out of poor Jimmy in class F?”

Hope raised one eyebrow, one thing she duplicated to perfection after having watched Mommy do it a thousand times with Daddy whenever Daddy said or did something eyebrow-raising. And that happened a lot too. According to Autie Bex, Daddy had actually improved tremendously as compared to the last century.

“All paled in comparison to what your ‘training’ did to him afterwards, Kol.”

“It’s called ‘tough love’, darling.”

Hope shrugged with a smirk, not buying it one bit.

“Like what I just did, protecting my lovely and vulnerable niece from that despicable parasite.”

“That ‘vulnerable’ niece of yours can rip out a man’s heart faster than you can blink,” Hope rebuked. “Admit it, dearest uncle, you scared away my potential date to get even with my shooing yours away.”

Kol’s grin turned feral as he leaned in closer. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked as if he was about to pull her into a passionate kiss. “Now you said it. I did have a thing for Angela and you made her think as though I ruined her Christmas ball gown and her nails.”

“You started it first. You know she’s my nemesis and yet you want to date her!”

“Since elementary school, darling. Aren’t you a little too old for that childish rivalry? Secondly, I didn’t intend to date her. I wanted a bite of her.”

“And I the same with Nathan. Now thanks to you, I’ll have neither a date nor a treat.”

“Even steven, little niece. Second, steroid-filled blood isn’t tasty, trust me.”

“Fine,” Hope huffed, “game on, uncle. Let’s see which of us will get a suitable date and which will go without one.”

…

“So,” Rebekah drawled, “you two spent the whole day ruining each other’s potential dates for Homecoming?”

Beside her on the couch, Klaus couldn’t contain his laughter… for the last fifteen minutes.

They were binge-watching the whole series of Game of Thrones when their brother and niece/ daughter stormed in, looking as if a volcano was about to erupt right under the compound.

Well, no drama was better than teen drama. Deanerys and her dragons had to wait.

“She/ He started it first!”

Their unison in speech was simply astounding.

Klaus and Rebekah exchanged a knowing look. Teenagers.

“Who started it first doesn’t really matter,” Rebekah said, “What does is neither of you has a date. Why not focus on that?”

“You know, sweetheart, I can be your escort to the party.”

Hope wrinkled her nose. “Dad, eww. Seriously.”

Klaus insisted, “I may not wear a suit 24/7 like your uncle Elijah and his breathen but that doesn’t mean I don’t rock in one, just saying.”

“Still eww. Plus, you will definitely murder any guy that comes in one-meter perimeter.”

Klaus couldn’t disagree.

“I can be your date, Kol. I haven’t had a high school party for years and I’m feeling kind of reminiscent.”

“Your last time was in Mystic Falls, I reckon, when you epically blew Elijah’s trial for being human?”

Rebekah elbowed Klaus hard enough to send him off the couch. “No thanks for reminding me.”

“Thanks but no thanks, Bekah,” Kol said.

“Well, Freya’s coming with Finn.”

Kol and Hope looked at each other as though they’d heard a UFO landing on their roof.

“I haven’t a chance to know what a Homecoming party is like,” Klaus added, air-quoting. “And your aunt was resolute in her belief that she could pass as a teenager.”

“I’m going with Marcel,” Hope decided.

Rebekah looked as if she was about to object but Klaus was one-step ahead of her.

“Marcel’s going to The Strix’s annual party on that night, dear. Compulsory. Full stop.”

“What about Lucien?”

“Going to gate-crash it like every other year. Unless you want Uncle Elijah to accompany you…”

Hope made a face at that.

“Oh wait, he’s attending The Strix’s party, too. So dear old Daddy’s your only available arm candy left.” Klaus concluded with his trademark crooked smile.

“No way. I’d rather go with Kol!”

“Yes.” Rebekah’s exclamation was loud enough to veer everyone’s attention to her. She was beaming with a proud smile at her ingenious idea. “Perhaps you two should pair up. What’s better than the Homecoming King and Queen going together?”

Kol and Hope traded a prolonged look at each other. A spark of sort. Perhaps a realization. After a while, they both resigned to the same acceptance.

“Well, since we can’t just compel a random person to be our date,” Kol admitted, scratching the back of his head, “I guess we just have to make do with each other.”

“Good, problem solved,” Rebekah said in gleeful tone, not-so-subtly pushing her brother and niece to the entrance. “Now go buy some matching outfits. Got to look stunning if you want the crown, right?”

Once Kol and Hope was out of the scene, Klaus asked Rebekah, “Are you certain they’ll win ?”

“I want to return to our show, all right?” Rebekah answered with a shrug. “Teen dramas are just good at the beginning. It gets boring after a few minutes. But they’re the most popular at their school, aren’t they not? If not them, then who?”

With Rebekah’s assurance, Klaus pushed the tiny matter aside to enjoy Daenerys and her dragons.

…

The party was pretty mundane until Lucien arrived uninvited with a flock of obnoxious drunken exotic dancers (this year he actually compelled genuine strippers) and stirred things up. Returning home in an upbeat mood, Elijah didn’t foresee finding his little brother and niece, gorgeous in their Homecoming outfits by the way, sulking in the kitchen. They had been quite excited about the event, so he expected them to go home radiating with the aftermath buzz, not being two cluster of heavily focused glum energy. Did they just hit the angsty teen phase? Elijah was no expert on the field but he had had plenty first-hand experience during his short time as a temp history teacher and thus knowing this was the worst stage before their transition to adulthood.

Okay, he decided, if the next minute they started crying or going emo, he was going to call for help, scratch it,  _shout_ for help, whether it was as far as the bayou or just on the upper floor and buried in thick blankets after three days of binge-watching a toxic number of TV series.

“What happened?”

The question was formed in his mouth, chewed a few times to make sure there was nothing wrong before making its way to his lips, when it was halted by Kol’s statement: “We didn’t get the crown.”

And then Hope seamlessly followed: “Aunt Freya and Uncle Finn became the King and Queen.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Kol cried. “How could Finn beat me in the popular department? Come on, he hangs out mostly with geeks and have you ever heard they attend any party other than Comic Con?”

It would upset his little brother even more if he were to tell the truth, so Elijah kept silent about the tiny fact that their older brother, despite common belief, used to be very popular with the village girls back in their human days.

“Aunt Freya isn’t even a student. I mean, why did they vote for her when her name wasn’t on the list?”

Ah, that must have been Finn, Elijah thought. Also, he didn’t want to point out that had the two of them not spent the day committing their petty vengeance, perhaps they wouldn’t have lost their votes. Yes, he had been thoughtfully updated by Rebekah and Niklaus.

Salting the wound wasn’t Elijah’s habit so he gave his brother and niece a pat on the head. “Quite an eventful night, wasn’t it? Who wants ice cream and the juicy details of how Lucien wrecked Tristan’s party?”

_End_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter. Thank you very much for all your kudos and supportive comments.


End file.
